Chatbots are computer programs, typically housed within your event app, that can carry on quasi-human conversations. Interacting with up to thousands of your event attendees at once, a great chatbot serves as a cross between personal meeting assistant and high-performance analytics machine.

“When’s the next general session?” 2 PM in the South Hall.

“I have feedback about my breakout session.” Okay. On a scale of one to ten ...

“Where can I catch an Uber or Lyft to the airport?” Hmmm. Based on your current location, the transportation stand nearest you would be ...

As an event planner or marketer, your goal is to forge strong connections with your meeting attendees. One of the best ways is by always being there with the answer or information they need. Chatbots are a rising force in this quest to achieve this sense of real connection, and information, without sacrificing a human touch. By unleashing this technology in a thoughtful, strategic way, you can make a new level of engagement possible. You also will earn yourself a rich mine of data for your analytics.

Chatbots can be built right into your meeting app for ease of deployment. This allows them to interact with attendees inside the app or to reach out to them via social media. Most attendees today are tuned to social platforms like Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp or Skype. With a chatbot built into your event app, you can essentially scan an attendees’ connected social media profiles and “pop up” on those platforms, too. This will allow you to catch attendees anywhere, even when they’re not in-app.

Your chatbot can be preprogrammed with all sorts of knowledge. It can also learn better answers over the course of the event. Thanks to technologies such as neurolinguistic programming, machine-learning and data science, artificial intelligence actually enables your chatbot to “evolve.” These self-improving functions mean your chatbot gets smarter as your event progresses.

At the very least, a basic chatbot can be programmed to answer many typical attendee questions. Consider functions beyond Q&A, as well. You might use your chatbot to live-poll your audience during a keynote address. You could leverage it to keep attendees engaged during breakout sessions, too, by having your presenters pre-set prompts that are served up during the session. (This can help to keep attendees focused on the presentation even if they pull out their phones.)

After your event, follow-up with attendees from the app-powered chatbot in their social media profiles. Studies show that attendees are many times more likely to deliver feedback via these platforms than by an email. Additionally, data from these chatbot surveys provides you with rich analytics, enabling you to design more compelling meeting content next year. Your AI-powered chatbot can then turn the data into stories, event reviews and future marketing.

As you consider the usefulness of a chatbot for your next event app, further possibilities include:

Venue accommodation requests

Reviews of venue or accommodations

Interaction with speakers and sessions

Selection of food and beverage

Reviews of specific experiences

General event feedback (questions, polls, etc.)

Rich analytics for all attendees

Keep in mind that like any event technology tool, your chatbot must work for both you and your meeting attendees. Designing your chatbot for maximum ease, helping you plan and manage your event, is a must. At the same time, your tool must also be focused on helping attendees achieve the high-touch experience they expect. It’s critical to know your attendee profiles and their journey from first touch to final follow up. Be prepared to really tailor things. Build in not just data, but surprise and delight.

With the ease and increasing accuracy of artificial intelligence applications, chatbots are here to stay as a powerful tool for keeping up with attendees and engaging them more deeply with the experience of your event. A little smart thinking and strategic planning on your part can help ensure your chatbot becomes your hardest-working event team member.

It’s time to step into the future of meeting communication!

Ready to up-level your event communication and technology? The team at LSAV POWERHOUSE believes in a strategic approach, ensuring you get—and stay—more connected to your attendees with the smartest digital and real-time tools.Check out our portfolio here and reach out to schedule a consultation.